My day with Mickey, Minnie, and men in hard hats

Although this drama happened on Tuesday, I am just now able to write about it... much less find any humor in it. ha!

The day before Christmas we traded my car. Because of the holidays, I had not yet returned my 3rd row removable seat from my Tahoe that had been living in our storage shed for the last 4 years.

So Tuesday morning, Jimmy loaded my old seats into my new car before heading to work. I dropped Trace off at my mom's and my goal for the day was to drive to Cleveland, unload them and finalize paperwork, emissions, title, etc...

Picture this scenario, if you will...

I round Wendy's to get lunch before hopping onto I-75 to make the 30 minute trip to Cleveland. I am talking to Jimmy on my cell phone (yes, and eating and driving at the same time, but before you judge, I was using my Bluetooth) when something in my rear view mirror caught my eye. I look up from my burger to see a...I can barely say this word... RAT... running across the middle seat headrest!

CUE SHEER PANIC!!!

I immediately start SCREAMING into the phone like a completely deranged lunatic knowing that at any minute he could leap from the back seat onto the back of my head. (I physically shivered just typing that)

I somehow manage to get control of my car before it went plowing into the construction site set up in the median and pulled off the exit. I am still hysterical as I dive out of my car onto the off ramp and begin slinging open every door. I lift the hatch of my SUV, find a t-shirt and begin frantically swiping at it.

SIDE NOTE: (Some may call it a mouse. It had beady eyes, fur, a long tail... and was IN my car... call it what you want... to me, it's a rat)

I finally knock it out of my car with the t-shirt only for it to begin tormenting me on the ground by circling my feet! I am dancing, swinging, and screaming as people continue to drive down the interstate glaring at me.

I knew I wanted those old (rat infested) seats out of my car, so I reach in to grab them and out pops another one!

Cue Explosion #2!! And the process begins again...

In the mean time, I have begged Jimmy to come get me (knowing full well that I was NOT about to get back into the car until it had been thoroughly inspected). After several phone calls he tells me he's on his way but that he's got 3 of his workers with him and he's 30 minutes away. He says I need to get off the shoulder and drive to a gas station where it's safer until he can get there.

Huh, yeah right... I'll risk it.

So, I wait...

Now, on this day it was 35 degrees and very windy. My coat in laying in my front seat but not knowing if Ratatouille had set up camp in it, I decide to take my chances of freezing to death on the side of the highway than to reach in and get it out. Oddly, although I've been accused of being "temperature intolerant" most of my life, I believe pure adrenaline kept me warm that day.

A very nice construction worker finally walks over and tells me he and his buddies have been watching me (hysterically laughing, I have no doubt) and thought I was having some kind of "fit". I told him what happened (while holding back tears) and that my husband was on his way and he then made his way back across the median. (He didn't like rats either)

I continue to dodge the now 2 rats running around my feet and car (you would have thought they'd have run off... but no) while they attempted to climb up the tire well and get back in. I have no idea if that is even physically possible, but you must remember my rational thinking skills weren't fully engaged at this point.

(Some may think, duhhh... just close your doors. BUT what if there were more rats in that seat that hadn't come out yet?) Uhhh... another shiver.

About 15 minutes later, another worker (from the other side of the highway) drives over to check on me and says all of his guys have concluded I must have a snake in my car. I tell him my sob story and he offers to get the seats out of my car... bless his heart!

Finally, an hour after this all began, my Prince Charming arrives. Poor guy, I don't think he was quite prepared for the state that I was in by that point. He and one of his workers searched my car and inspected the seats for more rodents. By now, I am frozen, physically sick to my stomach, and very aware of the "show" I had just put on for the construction crew and passerbyers of I-75.

I refuse to ride in the car by myself, so Jimmy and I deliver the seats to Cleveland (good riddance) and I came home and scrubbed down with an SOS pad. ha!

Three days later, I still gag a little just thinking about it, and can't climb into my car without checking everything out first. I may drive forever staring into my rear view mirror, waiting to see something scamper across my seat.

Always trying to find the positive in every situation... I was very thankful that I didn't cause a major traffic accident and that Trace wasn't in the car with me. Can you imagine that scene???

So, the next time you hear on the news... mysterious car accident, broad daylight, no weather conditions, single car, witnesses have no idea what happened...

you may think to yourself... could have been RATS?!?